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Tag Archives: Dirty Dozen
February 16, 2012, 4:34 pm
IRS ‘Dirty Dozen’ List Includes Charity Abuses
The Internal Revenue Service’s annual “dirty dozen” list of the top 12 tax scams in the United States includes schemes that involve charities—in particular, the misuse of noncash donations.
The IRS says that it’s investigating cases in which donors try to maintain control over donations or income from contributions of assets.
The tax agency says it has seen cases in which several charities claim the value of the same donated products.
“Often these donations are highly overvalued or the organization receiving the donation promises that the donor can repurchase the items later at a price set by the donor,” the IRS says.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 imposed higher penalties for inaccurate appraisals of noncash gifts, says the tax agency.
Last month, the IRS imposed a fine on Food for the Hungry, an international charity, for allegedly misleading the public about the…
April 8, 2011, 7:51 pm
IRS Warns of Tax Abuses Involving Nonprofits
As tax season ticks down, the IRS is warning Americans not to abuse deductions for charitable giving.
The IRS, in its annual list of the year’s “dirty dozen” tax scams, says that attempts to abuse charitable organizations and deductions are among the most common efforts to skirt the tax code.
In some cases, this means that taxpayers are using charities to shield income from taxation, often by inflating the value of donated assets or income from donated property.
The tax agency said it has also been investigating schemes involving the donation of products and other noncash items by multiple groups that claim the full value for giving and receiving the same contribution. These donations are often highly overvalued—therefore allowing a bigger tax deduction—or the recipient allows the donor to repurchase the items at a later date.
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